Our Journey
by Sakura Keiko
Summary: I observed him all throughout the lessons. It's not that I like him or anything; that's absurd. I was just curious, because he came from a land where William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, and Charles Darwin once lived. TomoyoXEriol AU


**This is my first Cardcaptor Sakura fic, so please be nice ^^ EriolXTomoyo. Forgive me if I make some mistakes. I haven't watched CCS for quite a while now.**

**PS: They're twelve at the start of the story.**

**Enjoy :) AU**

_**Our Journey**_

When I first saw him, I saw something in his eyes that wasn't supposed to be there. His eyes were blue. His hair was blue too, but it was one shade darker than his eyes. He didn't look at me. He stared at my best friend while introducing himself, earning a lot of glares from Sakura's boyfriend, Syaoran.

"I'm Eriol Hiiragizawa. I have lived in England for a long time, but am purely Japanese." He said in a weird accent. Was that how English people speak? But he said he was Japanese. Can accents be learned just as lessons can?

I have never been to England—or any country, for that matter. I have travelled to other places, yes, but all these places were always somewhere in Japan. For example, the first time I travelled—I was five—my mother and I went to Osaka. Where we went, everything looked so beautiful. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and looked much prettier than the cherry blossoms in our small village. I was so amazed by the beauty of everything that I almost forgot I was still in Japan. Anyway, I dislike not knowing things and I was determined to fill this gap of knowledge in my head right away, so I listened.

"I have not been in Japan for a long time, so please forgive me if I make any mistakes." He said, even though he spoke in perfect Japanese.

'_He's modest.'_ I observed. _'But there's something about him that doesn't look right.'_

"Okay, Hiiragizawa-san." Mizuki-sensei said. "Please wait while I look for a vacant seat—Ah, that seat beside Daidouji-san is empty!"

I suddenly turned my head to the right and sure enough, it was empty. I was sure someone sat there before. The English guy made his way toward his new seat and sat down, smiling. As the teacher went on with the lesson, he listened, scribbling down notes in a small, green notebook.

'_He writes fast,' _I thought_. 'He must have really tough lessons in England.'_

I observed him all throughout the lessons. It's not that I like him or anything; that's _absurd_. I was just curious, because he came from a land where William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, and Charles Darwin once lived. England was also known for the famous queens, kings, princes and princesses that practically have the same popularity as Hollywood stars.

"Daidouji-san, right?" Eriol asked me, his tone unsure, but his face confident.

"Yeah." I replied. "You come from England, right?"

"Right." He smiled warmly.

"Is it nice there?" I asked, not caring that I sounded really curious.

He chuckled as if he had just heard a joke. "It is. It's really fascinating. England is full of secrets and untold events."

"Oh?" I asked, getting interested. On the topic, not him.

"Yes." He replied, not looking at all irritated by my never-ending questions. "You know what? Let's eat together, so we could talk more about England. In exchange, you tell me about Japan. Is that good enough for you?"

I didn't know why, but I found myself smiling. "Yes."

Our talk was delightful. He told me all sorts of things about England and I couldn't help asking more questions. It seemed that the more information I get, the more I want. He told me about how they got to visit the town where William Shakespeare was born and how there were so many tourists there that he got lost a bunch of times. They also visited lots of theatres and they were very big—and also filled with people. His descriptions were so vivid that I felt like I have visited the theatres myself

When it was my turn, I told him about Tokyo first—how it became the capital of Japan and tourist spots like the Tokyo Tower. Eriol seemed fascinated about how Tokyo was once just a small fishing village until the Edo period when it became the center nationwide military government in Japan. I also told him about the beautiful Ogasawara Islands where I caught a fish for the first time.

It only seemed like fifteen minutes when the bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of lunch. We frantically began to fix our things. As we ran toward our classroom—which was actually pretty far away from where we ate—I smiled as I thought_, 'This might be the start of a brand new journey_.'

'_His eyes had gotten darker,'_ I noticed as I watched him as he quietly ate his lunch, surrounded by a few girls who found his English voice _cool_.

'_The amusement in his voice has gone.'_ I observed, frowning. _'He doesn't smile as much as before.'_

Eriol had left Japan _again_ two years after he arrived. It was a sad moment for both of us, but not a tear was shed, because we were not supposed to care for each other. We were supposed to be just friends, but I couldn't help falling in love with his cerulean eyes, the wonderful English accent he had and the knowledge I had searched for. I accompanied him to the airport, telling him that he was going to have so much fun at America, but he just looked at me with sad eyes, not opening his mouth.

It had been a long time since I've seen him, but I couldn't help comparing the Eriol before and the Eriol now. Given the choices, I most probably will choose the Eriol before. He has changed so much and I don't know if I can cope up with his changes. He hasn't talked to me since he had arrived—which was two days ago. He barely looked at me and if he did, I could see no emotion in his eyes. Something in my heart hardened and I know I _had_ to talk to him sooner or later. After three years of having been separated with him, I wanted to talk to him, maybe ask him about his stay in America. He would have lots of stories to tell, for sure.

But the problem was, _I_ didn't. He had gone to a whole new world, acquiring lots and lots of wisdom and knowledge, and I stayed here in Japan, where the only knowledge I had acquired was about linear equations and the atomic number of Barium—which is, by the way, fifty-six. I guess all I was to him was a travel guide, helping him around Japan, telling him bits of information of it and getting thrown away to the nearest trash bin. Like other pieces of paper, I was not biodegradable and therefore, cannot dissolve into nutrients that can actually help trees grow.

"Tomoyo."

My head jerked up at both the mention of my name and the voice of the one who mentioned my name. I found myself staring into dark, blue irises and couldn't look away. I haven't really looked at them closely these days, but I felt the same thing when I looked into his eyes six years ago.

A few seconds later, my brain registered the thought that he was _calling_ my name, rather than just saying it for no apparent reason.

And so went my brilliant reply, "E-Eriol…?"

I wanted to slap myself in the face for making it sound like a question. No. Maybe a good, hard _punch _ on the _head_ was what I needed right now. I knew exactly why my brain was acting like this.

Because my _heart_ is pumping too much _blood_ to the brain that it isn't working properly. Stupid heart.

"Yeah." He replied nonchalantly. "Who else? Look, I know we've been friends before, but I don't want to be friends anymore."

I was expecting that. I was, I was. But if I was, then why did my heart suddenly stop pumping mass amounts of blood to my brain?

I couldn't speak anymore after that, but I guess it was obvious in the face, because Eriol answered my unspoken question.

"You've changed." He said, putting his hands out of his pockets. He did not look at me.

_I've _changed? _He_ was the one who was acting and _looking_ different!

"Change is inevitable." I managed to say.

He seemed to have not expected me to talk, because he looked at me with bewildered eyes.

"Yeah, but…" Eriol said. "You've changed a lot."

"You did too." I said, tears threatening to come out of my eyes any moment. Even though there weren't much people in this place, I didn't want him to see me crying. Sure, he had seen me cry before, but never because of him. He never made me cry.

Until now.

He was silent for a while, probably thinking it all over. I wish he would just leave, so I could run all the way home and cry in my room. He was making it five times harder than it should be.

"Tomoyo, please don't make this harder." He said.

For a moment there, I thought he just read my thoughts.

Then, I realized it. We were having the same thoughts. Yes, we had changed, but our old selves were still there—almost invisible, but still there.

As the tears began to fall from my eyes, I suddenly hugged him. I cried silently in his chest, getting tears all over his shirt. I'll pay for it later. Right now, I just wanted him to comfort me—not even that. I wanted him to show—even just a little—care for me. Even just a pat on my head would be fine.

But I got much more than I asked for.

It was exactly one minute and fourty-three seconds before he wrapped his hands around me. It felt so _wonderful_, being hugged by the person you have loved for six years. I felt this warm feeling in my heart and found out that it had started pumping again—I didn't know when, but at least, I knew I wasn't going to die of heart failure anytime soon.

"Tomoyo…" he whispered.

I cried even more, even though I felt so good. I don't if the tears coming out of my eyes were tears of happiness, but I _did_ know that I was in perfect bliss the whole time.

We hugged each other for a while, until he broke it. There were still tears in my eyes, but they weren't flowing as a few minutes ago. He looked at me. His hair was almost the same color of his eyes then. Both of them were blue, and I loved each of them just as I loved every part of him.

That was when I realized what _'something in his eyes'_ was when I first met him. It was knowledge. I didn't know if he had actually found out that this was all going to happen, that he has psychic powers and doesn't know it, but what I _do_ know is that I am _perfectly_ in love with the guy in front of me.

Our journey may have been disturbed by the sudden move four years ago and the attitude in which we had treated each other two days ago, but I know it will continue from now on in a—hopefully, safe—rollercoaster, going up and down.

He smiled. I smiled. No words were needed.

**A/n: I did this for about three or four hours. In the middle of writing, there was suddenly a brown out and when the electricity came back, I couldn't find the AutoSave of this file. Luckily, I found it after fifteen minutes of research. YAAAY~**

**I hope you enjoyed the story!**

**Suggestions? Comments? Recommendations? Feelings you have to vent out **_**right now or you're going to explode into a hundred donuts**_**? Constructive Criticism? Go ahead!**


End file.
